Two springer spaniels saved after 8 days in wild near Estes Park

It takes a community, two hunters to rescue

Two of a kind -- the Roehl boys, Copper and Tibby, at home, looking toward their next adventure, which the Roehls hope will remain closer to home.
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John Roehl
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It's the kind of story that warms your heart. It involves angels and animals and thanksgiving -- and it all could've ended so differently, but for the caring of the community, two hunters and the plucky survival skills, tenacity and togetherness of two dogs. Get out your hankies, not to blow into, but to wave hooray.

Cooper and Tibby Roehl are rescued springer spaniels, who came to live with their loving adoptive parents, John and Diane Roehl, near Estes Park, 3.5 years ago. John explains that Tibby, 5, and Cooper, 7.5 years old, are inseparable, and were adopted together, as a "pack of two." Ultimately, that pack of twoness worked to save them, he said. The duo of doggies are diggers and runners.

Cooper and Tibby have often escaped from their fenced yard, eight miles south of Estes Park on Highway 7, for adventures that lasted about 15 minutes to 2 hours. They have always returned -- except on Nov. 9, when they manaaged to roam 3.5 miles down Highway 7, for 8 days.

Roehl said he built a $4,000 fence for the yard, but the boisterous boys defeated that and got out. He added a $1,000 reinforcement, and they found a way under and around that, too.

"They go crazy over critters," he said, "and they found out they could squeeze out."

On Friday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m., they squeezed out for an adventure that easily could've been their last. They left in the morning -- without bandana or lunch pail on a pole -- and had not returned by dark.

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Worried, the Roehls began their own journey into darkness, looking for their wanderers.

On Monday morning, Roehl's sister, who lives nearby the Roehls and works at Rocky Mountain Pharmacy, talked to a woman at the pharmacy, who said she thought she'd seen the dogs in an area near Eagle Plume's over the weekend.

"I went there and used my dog whistle. I drove up the road to Pierson Park. I looked all day Tuesday, Wednesday I worked, Thursday I volunteered and went out a little bit on Friday. I told everyone. We put up posters. I talked to a young couple in the Allenspark area and they said they'd keep an eye out for them. Eagle Plume's became a clearinghouse (for information)," Roehl said.

Accepting the sad idea a week later that their dear animal companions might be gone forever, the Roehls decided to go to a Denver shelter to look at rescue springer spaniels available for adoption.

Roehl said he mentioned his lost dogs at a meeting he attended in Sterling on Saturday. The people prayed that the dogs were not in pain or afraid.

"Then, we pull up to our house on Saturday and my sister comes out and says, 'They're in the house,'" Roehl said. "We called Boyd Williams (one of the hunters who rescued the canines) and got the story from him."

Sunday, Roehl went to Allenspark and joyfully wrote the word "Found" on all the flyers he'd placed -- at the community center, Distant Harbors, the post office and the fire station, among other places. Then, he went down to Big Owl Road and found the couple who said they'd watch for the dogs.

"They were ecstatic," he said. "My sense was that the whole Allenspark community was aware and supportive of the situation. There's a wonderful sense of community. This is a miracle happy ending."

How did it all happen?

Roehl said, "I've had a number of dogs before, but these two are the most likely to survive in the wild, something like this. They're great predators. They've killed a large mole and vole in the yard. They're very fit and lean. They play-fight twice a day. They're the pack of two. If there had only been the one of them, he probably wouldn't have eaten anything and been picked off by a coyote in 8 days."

As it was, Tibby lost 10 pounds and Cooper lost 8, but they're happy at home now, without any lasting effects.

Roehl said the meeting he attended in Sterling on Saturday, Nov. 10, was for the Kairos Prison Ministry Advisory Council.

"It's a powerful ministry," he said.

Roehl said he had been bummed out for the whole week the boys disappeared, and on the day of the meeting, it was overcast and he was in a down mood. There was a two-hour reunion with 21 prisoners inside the walls, followed by a meeting of the advisory council, outside the walls. Prayers were offered for the boys.

"Riding back home, when we were halfway there, I had this feeling of peace and contentment," Roehl said. "After awhile, I just envisioned or imagined us driving up to the house, opening the door and seeing the dogs through the glass. But for my sister warning me, that's what happened. They were tired, but happy. Boyd told me he had the feeling these guys weren't coming back (after he found them). He was of the opinion that was going to be their last night."

Williams, of Estes Park, who found the dogs together with his son, Dave, of Longmont, said, "We were happy to find the owners of the dogs. They're nice dogs. I don't know how they made it 8 days."

Williams reported that he and his son were driving by the Allenspark area on the way to a hunting trip, when they spotted Copper and Tibby lying side by side, inert. One of the dogs seemed aggressive and was barking and growling. He thought there might be something wrong, but the hunters continued on their trip.

After thinking about the situation awhile, Williams said he worried that maybe the dogs' owner might've suffered a heart attack in the woods and fallen, leaving the dogs. He decided if the dogs were gone, when he and his son came back, everything was probably all right and there was nothing to worry about. However, when the Williams returned in about 1.5 hours, the dogs were lying in exactly the same spot.

Williams fished a piece of an old candy bar out of his pocket and enticed the dogs with it. They gobbled it up, he said. Next, he threw a cracker to each one. That allowed him to get closer. He was able to hand each a cracker, finally, and to pet their heads.

"I saw their collars, where they were from and who they belonged to," he said.

The dogs attempted to get up, but were too stiff, he said. They couldn't step onto the running board of the Williams' truck, so the hunters picked them up and lifted them inside

"They were really stiff," Williams said. "But we were tickled to death. We were glad they were still healthy, and that their owner wasn't down."

The dogs must've found water, but they were really hungry and dry, he said. The Williams' took care of Copper and Tibby and headed out searching for the Roehls. That turned out to be an adventure, too, Williams said, laughing. His son has a cell phone with GPS, but the hunters "read the dumb thing backwards. We were hunting all over and didn't find the street...We reversed our strategy and got to the Twin Sisters Trailhead. We went up there and found the house. Nobody was home."

Keeping the dogs, they went back down the road, then returned several hours later. Roehl's sister's house was nearby, and someone was home. The Williams' knocked on her door.

"She was delighted to see the dogs," Williams said. "She put them in a pen. We were glad we could help them."

Williams said he comes from a family of dog lovers, and had to put a 13-year-old chocolate lab down companion down last year.

"It's an amazing thing these dogs could go for 8 days (in the wild)," he said.

Roehl said the boys' triumphal return was 8 days, to the hour, that they disappeared. He says they have been getting chicken and nice goodies and lots of hugs, since their reappearance. The veterinarian checked them out Tuesday and said they are fine.

"The appetite is the best barometer," Roehl said. "And they're fine and hungry."

He intends to strengthen the fencing in the yard with heavy logs and rocks, but said the dogs may be smart enough to learn to climb over. If that happens, he hopes they will not run as far.

He calls the Williams' "angels with guns." He was "freaking out" when he spoke to them on the phone, because he was so happy.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you and to everyone," Roehl said. "My fond hope is that the boys stay home, with reinforced fencing and our keeping an eye on them."

Roehl, who has lived in this area for 10 years, praised the "love of animals and pets in this community" and said the rover boys are "getting lots of hugs."In a letter to the editor in today's Trail-Gazette, Roehl expresses his profound gratitude to those who helped. When the Williams' "found our dogs lying side by side, Tibby was so exhausted he could barely raise his head and the men did not think the dogs would have lived through the night. It was eight days to the hour since the dogs had run. Copper and Tibby are skinny and tired and their paws are sore, but they are otherwise fine. Incidentally, Boyd is the uncle of Gary Williams of the Trevarton Ranch, which is near where the dogs were found. Our profound gratitude goes out to Eagle Plume's, the Allenspark community and those who were watching for our beloved companions and to the Williams, who Diane calls "angels with guns." We are truly thankful this season."

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